LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Feb. 13 - Make communities healthier, safer

The recent in Newtown, Conn., has prompted meaningful discussions about mental health issues and how to get care and treatment to those who need it before a situation turns into a crisis. I am encouraged that these discussions will lead to the action needed to reduce mental health stigma and save lives.

As the CEO of Common Ground, a nonprofit crisis intervention agency in Southeastern Michigan, I was extremely pleased to hear President Obama recommend Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training for teachers and school staff members across the nation during his recent address.

Mental Health First Aid is an internationally recognized training program designed to equip lay people with tools to recognize and respond to people who may be in an emotional crisis and connect them to help. Maybe if this training had been available many years ago when my father attempted suicide, I might have acquired the skills and tools to recognize that he needed professional help and been able to save his life. Sadly, that was not possible because he completed the suicide in his next attempt. So, this is personal.

Lay people having the confidence and training to engage people in crisis can only save lives, just as lay people with Red Cross training can perform CPR and save lives. We need a community that has the tools to identify and help those in need. That process begins with training as many people as possible to understand and intervene when witness to an emotional crisis.

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Common Ground is prepared to lead that effort and is part of an international coalition to promote and conduct Mental Health First Aid training. More than a year ago, we sent two of our agency volunteers to a national training seminar for MHFA in Chicago. They learned how to administer the training and became certified instructors.

According to the National Council for Behavioral Health, the adult Mental Health First Aid program has been delivered to nearly 100,000 Americans through a network of more than 2,500 instructors. Common Ground has been providing Mental Health First Aid training since 2010.

Participants learn how to provide the initial help to someone showing symptoms of mental illness or in a mental health crisis -- severe depression, psychosis, panic attack, suicidal thoughts and behaviors -- until appropriate professional help can be engaged. The training is open to educators, school administrators, human resource professionals, the faith communities, policy makers, primary healthcare providers, first responders, police and fire personnel, security personnel, family members or caring community residents.

At Common Ground our mission is to help people move from crisis to hope. The tragedy that happened in Newtown is another disturbing wake-up call. We have got to stop hitting the snooze button and take action to make our communities healthier and safer.

TONY ROTHSCHILD

CEO, Common Ground

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